70 per cent of ICU coronavirus patients are overweight

COVID-19 - The number of patients admitted to ICU by BMI category was similar in the overweight (BMI25-30) and obesity (BMI30-35) categories, 56 (31.6%) vs 58 (32.8%)

Approximately 70% of patients admitted to intensive care units in UK hospitals as a result of coronavirus are overweight or have obesity or morbidly obesity, according to an analysis by the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre on 19thMarch. The research is the first in-depth examination of ICU patients.

The analysis found that the average age of admission was 64, the vast majority were male (70.9%), 9 per cent had severe co-morbidities, however, what other conditions the patients presented with such as asthma, high blood pressure or diabetes, was not detailed.

The number of patients admitted to ICU by BMI category was similar in the overweight (BMI25-30) and obesity (BMI30-35) categories, 56 (31.6%) vs 58 (32.8%), respectively (Table 1).

Table 1: Patients admitted to ICU by BMI category

BMI

No. of pts

<18.5

1 (0.6%)

18.5-25

49 (27.7%)

25-30

56 (31.6%)

30-40

58 (32.8%)

>40

13 (7.3%)

In addition, although initial reports have indicated that coronavirus impacts the elderly, more than a third of ICU patients are under 60 year of age.

The report highlights the outcomes for 33 patients, of whom 16 patients have died and 17 were discharged alive from critical care. The median length of stay in critical care was three days for both survivors and non-survivors, although these figures may be biased towards short durations due to being based only on those with complete outcomes. Eleven patients (33.3%) received advanced respiratory support at any time during the critical care unit stay, six (18.2%) received advanced cardiovascular support and four (12.1%) received renal support.